Mind Games
by Eri-Tuure
Summary: A cry of pain rings through the forest and Sesshoumaru is the one to answer. How will he react to the girl he meets? Will love blossom or will they be mortal enemies?NOT A SESSKAG!
1. Korioumaru

Disclaimer: Inuyasha characters aren't mine. Anyone who isn't in the show, is mine.

Eri: Hey all. This is my second story. I'm trying my hand at inventing my own main character. Please lemme know wut you think, k? thanks a bunch!

**Chapter 1: Korioumaru**

"Lord Sesshoumaru! Rin is hungry. Can we please stop to eat something now?" Rin asked her lord politely.

Sesshoumaru sighed. 'Humans...' "Very well. Do not take long. I do not wish to waste time."

His answer made Rin squeal for joy. There were berry bushes around here and she was very much looking forward to eating some. Sesshoumaru found himself a tree to sit by while he waited for her. She ran from bush to bush collecting berries, shoving more in her mouth than she saved. After she had her fill, she ran over to Sesshoumaru with the ones she had collected.

"Would you like some Lord Sesshoumaru?" She offered, holding the berries out to him. He looked at them and turned his nose up in disgust.

"I do not eat human food."

Rin shrugged and put the berries away. They had been traveling for a few days now and she had no doubts that they would be traveling for a good 14 days more so she made sure that she had enough to last until the next time they were near berries or something else she could eat. Sesshoumaru rose to his feet seeing that she was finished here. He began walking again without saying a word. Rin ran after he Lord, trampling Jaken in the process. The little imp pried himself off the ground in time to hear his masters voice.

"Jaken. Keep up or I will leave you behind."

"Yes milord! I'm coming milord!" He yelled after him, struggling further to catch up.

_Further into the forest_

"You're going to pay you demon freak!" Ayuki yelled as she attacked the large moth demon.

"Hahaha, Puny Human! You think you can destroy me, the great Korioumaru, leader of the moth demon tribe!" He laughed as he batted her away, sending her flying into a large tree.

Ayuki grunted as he hit her and she was sent flying into a tree. It had hurt incredibly. She propped herself up on one arm and wiped the blood away that was trickling down from her lip. 'Damn him! He killed my parents! I have to take revenge!' Ayuki thought to herself. She grew up in a small village not far from where she was now. Her village had been plundered by demons and her parents were killed. This was just one of the many demons that had attacked. She had killed about 10 of them already. She wasn't about to let this one take her down. She rose to her feet and examined her environment. She smirk as she ran at him and he ducked. 'Just as I wanted.' She bounced off the tree that was directly behind him and clothes-lined him, pinning him to the ground once he fell with her sword at his throat.

"So, you called yourself Korioumaru? Well Korioumaru, meet my sword!" She said as she attempted to drive it through the demons heart. Unfortunately for her he had squirmed away from her in time to avoid her blade.

"Unfortunately for you I am not so easy to KILL!" He yelled thrusting his body to his feet and tackling Ayuki. She hit the ground hard with a loud thud, her head hitting a small rock, causing her temple to bleed. She cried out from the pain as the moth demon trapped her in his strong grasp. She writhed against the ground but it was no use. She decided that swords and weapons would be of no use to her now. She had to show him what she could really do.

_With Sesshoumaru_

Sesshoumaru had continued walking into the forest with Rin and Jaken. They had been travelling at a steady pace until Sesshoumaru stopped suddenly, looking into the distance listening for something. He had heard a sound. A female crying out in pain. Then it hit him. The smell of her blood. Human blood.

"Lord Sesshoumaru? What was that?" Rin asked. She and Jaken had heard it as well, only they hadn't heard it as clearly. "Was that a woman?"

"Yes." He answered. His every instinct told him to go. To help this woman in need. Meanwhile he was struggling with his pride. He would never lower himself to protecting a human, especially one he did not know.

"Do you think she is ok?" Rin asked.

"..."

"Maybe we should go see..." Rin said and before Sesshoumaru could stop her, she had taken off running in the direction of the sound. Sesshoumaru hadn't planned on going but he had to keep Rin safe and now he had no choice. He ran after her, not at full speed though. He would have caught her easily, but he too was somewhat curious to know what was going on. He could sense that she was still alive, but she was struggling. It was then that he sensed him.

"Korioumaru!" He growled as he ran faster. "Jaken, watch over Rin." He said as he ran at demon speed towards this demon he so hated. 'He thought he could sneak back into my lands again huh? Foolish moth! He will pay for his ignorance!' he growled in his head. Korioumaru had once challenged him for his lands, destroying the smaller lords to get to him. He had lost horribly and was banned from the western lands by a rare bout of mercy from Sesshoumaru. He was now back and it seemed he was as hostile as ever. He smirked to himself. He had found a way to help this female without helping her. He would merely consider it ridding his lands of this pest.

"GET OFF ME NOW!" Ayuki yelled at the moth demon.

"Hahaha, You have no idea who I am or what I am capable of wench so I suggest you stop yelling. For I am Korioumaru the leader of the..." he was cut off by Ayuki.

"Ya, the moth demon tribe. I know. We've been over that!" She nearly spat in his face, causing him to press harder against her arms, restraining any possible movement.

"AS I WAS SAYING! I am the leader of the moth demon tribe and I am more powerful than you could ever imagine. I could crush you like a bug right now..."

"Korioumaru, are you not banned from these lands?" A familiar voice sent chills through Korioumaru's spine.

"Lord Sesshoumaru, what a pleasant surprise..."

"You have been banned from my lands. Why do you return?" Sesshoumaru spoke, narrowing his eyes. His glare could have cut through solid rock.

"Oh, are these your lands? I thought I was still in the east. Well, better be heading back then..." He said, raising himself up off of Ayuki. He was about to run away when Sesshoumaru used his demon speed to get in his way.

"I showed you mercy last time we met. I should have killed you then. Oh well, at least I shall have some amusement in killing you now." He said as he shot his poison claws straight through Korioumaru's heart. Ayuki watched in horror as the scene played out in front of her. She had never seen such a powerful demon. She was certain that once he was done with the moth demon she would be the next to die. She rose to her feet, holding her bleeding temple. She stood her ground as the moth demon fell to the ground and Sesshoumaru wiped the blood from his claws. When he had finished he stood tall and began to walk away from Ayuki, confusing her greatly.

"Wait a minute, why did you kill him? I could have done it easily myself!" She yelled. Bad mistake. Before she could think a second thought he had her pinned by her neck to a tree.

"Do not yell at this Sesshoumaru!" He said threateningly. Ayuki gulped but kept up a brave face. 'Ok, next time don't irritate this jerk, Ayuki.' She thought. "And from the looks of things when I arrived," he continued, "he was about to kill you." He said dropping her to the ground. "Consider yourself lucky." He said walking away from her again.

"Wait!" she called out. "You killed my attacker, the least I can do is give you my name." She said forcing herself. She didn't want to admit that he had helped in any way. "I am Ayuki Sashimaru."

Sesshoumaru stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her.

"I did not save you. I killed one of my own enemies." he said before turning around again. He found the thought of her being at least respectful enough of his actions to "thank" him as odd. Most humans only thanked him when they were afraid of him. She didn't seem to be afraid of him, but it wasn't heartfelt. Something about this girl intrigued him, though he would be hard pressed to admit it. When he felt that he had gotten his point across he turned away once again and began to walk. This time, she did not stop him. She watched him leave, curious. She was angry that he would interfere with her fight but at least she wouldn't have to expose her abilities just yet.

Sesshoumaru walked away from the area where Ayuki was, but kept close by. He watched her carefully. There was something about her, something that drew his attention, his thoughts. She was confident. 'She truly believed that she could have defeated Korioumaru, but why? It wouldn't have been physical strength. Her aura doesn't seem to be very powerful either. What could it be?' He thought to himself. His thoughts were interrupted as he saw Rin run out from the forest and stop when she noticed the woman.

"Oh, Hello! Who are you?" Rin asked her, friendly as always. Ayuki had been surprised by the sudden appearance of the little girl out in the middle of the forest but she responded.

"My name is Ayuki. What is your name?" She asked, lowering her body so that she was eye level with Rin.

"I'm Rin!" She said beaming at her. "Were you the lady I heard crying out?" She bluntly asked. Oyuki was taken aback by her forwardness but responded.

"Yes, I was."

"Oh, then you must have seen my Lord. Is he here?" She asked looking around.

"I'm sorry, who is your Lord?" Ayuki asked, confused that the little girl was even out here in the first place.

"Lord Sesshoumaru. He came running this way. I followed him. Is he here?" She asked again.

'OH MY GOSH! THIS LITTLE GIRL IS TRAVELLING WITH THAT DEMON!' She thought, but nodded. "He did stop by actually." She saw Rin's eyes light up and hated to tell her the next part. "But he left a couple of minutes ago. Would you like me to help you find him?" She offered.

Rin seemed to be in deep contemplation. From what Ayuki had said, she had missed her Lord by mere minutes. She would have no idea where to start looking on her own, but Ayuki knew which way he went so she might be able to help. She nodded after some thought. 'I like her, she's nice' Rin thought to herself as Ayuki led her in the direction that Sesshoumaru had walked away in.

Sesshoumaru had been watching as all this occurred. He watched Rin's every emotion around this girl. This was the second human female that she seemed comfortable around. The other was Inuyasha's wench. He would find out more about this woman. He watched as she offered to help Rin find Sesshoumaru and quickly and silently moved around them as they walked in the direction he had been standing in. He followed them for hours as they searched for him, slowly picking up on the girls quirks. She liked to look around a lot and when they had stopped she was definitely a fidgeter. She had a lot of energy and a lot of patience. She had been answering non-stop questions from Rin since they set out to find him. Each question had a unique answer. She was even able to answer some of her awquard questions smoothly. Sesshoumaru found that he had learned enough for the moment and decided to make his presence known. He ran a ways ahead and leapt into a tree, choosing a medium height branch. When the two walked beneath him, he called out to her.

"Rin."

Rin was startled and looked up to see her Lord sitting high in the tree. She giggled and answered him.

"Lord Sesshoumaru! Rin has been looking for you!" She called up to him high above her. He jumped down and walked towards her.

"It seems that you have brought the child to me." He said, coldly.

"It would seem that way wouldn't it." Ayuki said with an equally chilling voice, surprising Sesshoumaru. They stood staring at one another for a short while. There were no words passed even when Sesshoumaru ended to staring match he merely nodded and turned from her. Rin hugged her leg and said good bye before following her Lord. Jaken had been trailing along behind the entire time. He refused to associate with the humans so he kept Ah-Un with him behind.

Ayuki watched his retreating back. His long silver hair was blowing in the wind behind him. She wanted to stop him for some strange reason. If she could have put her finger on a reason she would have but instead she decided to just let him go. She had a feeling they would meet again soon anyways.

She turned and walked in the opposite direction from them. They had passed a spring while searching for Sesshoumaru and she needed to wash the dirt and blood out of her clothing before it stained. She also welcomed the thought of a good swim to cool off. She hated the sweaty summer days. The fact that it had been an active day and not helped in the least.

_Flashback_

A 10 year old Ayuki is walking through her village. She headed to the spring just outside the village like she did every other day. Other children whispered as she walked past.

"Psst, look at her...she bathes a lot! That's not healthy!"

"Look at the freak girl!"

_End Flashback_

Ayuki always was one who loved to be clean. She couldn't stand smelling like her own sweat. If she could smell herself, she needed a bath and she refused to allow herself to get to that stage. So what if other people thought it wasn't healthy. To this point, she got sick less than anyone else she knew. She could hear the water now and it was so inviting to her. She made her way towards the water and dipped her toe in when she reached it. The water was cool to the touch, but it wasn't cold. It was perfect. She stripped off her kimono and dipped it into the water. She scrubbed all of the blood and dirt out of it and hung it over a tree branch to dry while she swam. She began to test how deep that water was at some points, which wasn't hard because it was crystal clear. She found the deepest part and climbed onto a boulder, swan diving into the water. It felt great. She stayed in the water until the sun began to set before getting out. Her clothes were dry by the time she was finished so she redressed and sat near the edge of the water, thinking.

_Flashback_

Ayuki is 8 years old. She is talking with her father when suddenly an axe on the other side of the room seems to float on it's own.

"You see, little Ayuki? We can do things that no other human can. We can move objects using our minds and tell what others are thinking."

"Really daddy! I can do that too! Teach me!"

Her father chuckles. "Soon sweetheart. Soon."

_End Flashback_

Ayuki sighed to herself. That was it. That was her secret, the one thing that she had against her opponents. She could move things with her mind to her advantage and she could read their moves before they made them, although she was not very good at that part yet. Something her father had failed to mention to her was that she could heal a wound by merely thinking about it, even if it wasn't her own wound. She sighed again. She had always been an outcast in her village. The only thing that kept her connected to them was that her parents lived there. Now that they had been killed she was on her own. She had learned to fight for herself. She had taught herself to hunt and how to tell which berries she could eat or not and her journey was far from over. Truth be told, it had only just begun...

-------------------------

Eri: YEAH BABY! How's THAT for a chapter ending, hmm! lol. Well, I'm only kind of trying my hand at this so please be patient and let me know what you think. Second chapter coming soon. I'm trying to do something that has NEVER been done before. So, I figured this was a good angle. Well, Review and let me know! Thanks a bunch!


	2. The Waterfall Healing

Disclaimer: All Characters in the show not mine, all not in the show mine

**Chapter 2: The Waterfall**

Ayuki had spent the entire day training herself. She hadn't had any demons to kill since Sesshoumaru had killed the moth demon a week ago. She was getting very bored and she had taken out a good 10 trees in practicing her telekinesis just today. Completely uprooted them from the ground. She was tired of waiting around. There had been no demon action at all. Not even small demons just passing by. She decided that she couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't just sit around waiting for one to come by, but she had no idea which direction to go in. In the end, she just picked one and went. She was quickly rewarded with a rogue hog demon. She lept into the air, sword high above her head and brought it down into it's shoulder. Once it was on it's knees she swung the blade again, removing it's head easily. She had to admit that it felt great. However, the hog demon had cut her arm pretty good. She used her abilities of her mind after making sure no one was looking to heal it.

"I never thought there would come a day that killing would feel good..." She said to herself aloud and walked past the now headless demon. She walked for a good two hours without anymore action. It was at that point that she picked up the presence of a strong mind near by. It had surprised her. It was the same feeling she had gotten when Sesshoumaru had shown up. She went towards the feeling, allowing her mind to reach out for the brain waves. She was getting closer. Suddenly it changed directions. Then again. Then again. She heard the sound of clashing steel and felt other minds that were not giving off as much power. She raced ahead to see what was happening. She stopped at the edge of a clearing to see Sesshoumaru sword fighting with another white haired demon. They looked very similar. The only differences were their clothes and that the second demon had no markings on his skin with puppy ears on his head. She stood and watched what was happening. She was intrigued to find out who this other demon was.

Ayuki looked off to the side to see 3 humans standing watching. A monk, another demon slayer, and a priestess. 'What odd company for a demon to keep...' She thought to herself, returning her eyes to the fight before her.

"Give me tetsusaiga!" Sesshoumaru said, slightly raising his voice.

"Tetsusaiga's barrier rejects you! You can't even pick it up! So why bother trying, Sesshoumaru?" The other demon yelled back.

Ayuki watched with amusement. 'His name is Sesshoumaru?' The two seemed to be brothers and if this was so, then this was more than just sibling rivalry. 'There must be a reason they are fighting...' She searched her mind for any possible reasons.None came Then it hit her. The demon without markings, his mind was not as strong as Sesshoumaru's. It seemed almost...human. 'That must be it! He's a hanyou!' She mentally screamed to herself. She had figured it out. He was a hanyou and it seemed that his brother was ashamed of that fact by the banter that was being passed back and forth during their fight. She heard one of the human girls on the other side calling out to the hanyou.

"Inuyasha! Stop! Please! You'll get yourself killed!" She said, pleaing with him.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the hanyou look back briefly before dodging one of Sesshoumaru's attacks. She heard him growl at Sesshoumaru before attacking again, this time using an attack Ayuki had never seen before. He drew his sword above his heard and yelled "KAZE NO KIZU!" and swung. A yellow light was sent of the sword along the ground, whipping it up before reaching Sesshoumaru. Before Sesshoumaru could dodge he sent another one. Sesshoumaru only had the time to dodge one and took the other straight to the chest.

"Ha! I'm not as stupid as you thought!" The hanyou yelled and the now limp demon laying on the ground. He was about to attack again. Ayuki saw this as her chance to repay Sesshoumaru for his previous actions.

"Stop!" She yelled, running out from her hiding place, startling everyone. She ran between Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha, putting her hands up to block any attacks he made. "Don't hurt him!"

Inuyasha nearly dropped his sword he was so shocked. 'This girl wants to PROTECT SESSHOUMARU!'

"What are you doing?" Sesshoumaru said wincing with pain.

"Returning the favour. Now shut up." She said, turning back to Inuyasha. "Don't hurt him."

"Feh! Who the hell do you think you are! I could destroy you in a second!"

"But I've been watching you. You're a hanyou. You care for your friends back there. You won't hurt me because I'm a human." She said with confidence. Inuyasha was speechless for once in his life.

Sesshoumaru rose to his feet slowly behind her, clutching his shoulder. "I do not need protection woman."

"You would be dead right now if I hadn't stepped in!" She spun around and faced him, hands on her hips. Sesshoumaru took one step forward to protest but a crippling wave of pain shot through his entire body and he fell to his knees. Ayuki didn't know how, but she found herself kneeling next to him, a hand placed gently on his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" She asked softly.

"I do not need help from a human." He said, growling in pain.

"The way I see it, you do." She said. "I'll be right back." She rose to her feet again and walked to Inuyasha who was still standing with his mouth hanging open.

"My name is Ayuki. And you will not kill him now." She said stubbornly.

"Look girl, I'm stronger than you think. You really shouldn't test me." Inuyasha said, hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "So am I. If you don't want to find out what I can do, I suggest you leave."

Her look sent chills down his spine. He was never one to test a woman at the best of times. He wasn't about to start with this one. She scared him. He shrugged it off and took his hand off his sword.

"Whatever, You want him, take him. We're leaving." He said, walking away as quickly as he could without looking like he was running. He attempted to drag the others with him but one of the girls squirmed from his grasp and ran up to Ayuki.

"Why do you want to protect him? I mean, I myself don't want to hurt him or anything, I just want to know what makes you want to keep him safe." the girl asked her.

"Well, Um..." She thought about it and realized that she herself wasn't too sure of the answer. "I don't really know. He killed a demon that was attacking me, now I wish to repay the favour. That's all" She said as truthfully as she could. The last part however was not. What she did not tell her was that she was fascinated by him. He seemed to be a unique creature indeed and she desired to learn more about him.

"Ok, well, just so you know, ya know, since I know your name, My name is Kagome..." She said, rubbing a hand on the back of her neck.She wasn't really sure why she was telling her, but she felt she should. Ayuki nodded and looked back at Sesshoumaru who was still on the ground in pain. She looked at him worriedly and Kagome caught it. She smirked to herself and walked away. She didn't want to say anything yet. Later, but not yet.

After seeing that Kagome had left, Ayuki jogged back to Sesshoumaru, kneeling beside him. "Come on, There is a waterfall nearby. It has the power to heal" 'lies...' "I will help you there. It's all I can really do to help." 'More lies..' She wrapped her arm around his waste gently and placed his arm around her shoulder. He growled in protest but didn't have the strength to fight her off. She couldn't believe how heavy he was. Granted the armour didn't exactly make him lighter, but he didn't look heavy. Luckily for her the waterfall wasn't far away. After reaching it, she settled him down next to a tree, leaning him against it.

"Ok, Um.." She said, beginning to blush. "I have to remove your shirts..." She looked at him, waiting for him to agree to it. He merely nodded. "Ok, Hold still. I'll try not to hurt you." She said and she undid his armour and removed his boa to discover that his blood had seeped through into his haori. She gently removed it and found his under shirt completely soaked. She winced and helped him out of the last piece of cloth covering the wound. It was deep and it looked extremely painful. She never had been one to handle to sight of blood well and nearly gagged when she saw it, but kept her reflexes under control. She gently caressed the skin around the outside of the wound, being careful not to hurt him.

"How much does it hurt?" She asked him.

"Enough." He replied.

Ayuki carried a small pouch at her side. In it she had some spare cloth. She pulled it out and ripped it up, wrapping around his wound as he growled in pain.

"Sorry!" She said. She really hoped she didn't hurt him too much. "Are you ok?" He nodded and she continued at a slower pace than before. She glanced up into his face every now and then to make sure he wasn't in too much pain. She was glad to see that he was not. Once she was finished wrapping him up, she reached into the pouch yet again and found some of her herbs that she took whenever her pain was too much to bare. It would dull the pain. She pulled it out.

"Here," She said, putting a little in front of his mouth. "It will take away the pain." He eyed her suspiciously. She sighed. "Just trust me. I just saved your life, I'm not about to ruin it but poisoning you are anything." She said. He stared for a short while longer before opening his mouth just enough for her to put it in.

"See it's not THAT bad!"

"Indeed."

She rolled her eyes.

"Just let me know when it kicks in and I will help you get to the water." She said.

"..."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a short while before Ayuki was startled from her thoughts by Sesshoumaru's deep voice.

"Why are you helping me human?" He asked.

"Because."

"That is not an answer."

sigh"Well, if you MUST know, I find you interesting. Wouldn't wanted to see any amusement go to waste..." She answered, an evil grin growing across her face. Sesshoumaru saw the grin and knew that she was toying with him.

"Do NOT toy with me woman. Answer me. Why do you help me?"

"..." IT was Ayuki's turn to be silent. She wasn't exactly sure how to answer him. She liked him but she wasn't about to tell him that. She had admitted to herself that she thought he was cute. She knew he had to have a soft side to allow the child to travel with him. She just wasn't sure what she would tell him.

"Do not test my patience."

"Oh please! You are in no condition to fight. But if you must know, I rather like you. Don't ask me why. Right now you aren't giving me any reason to, but I do. You would make a good ally." She said, using the term 'Ally' loosely.

"I am ready." He said. She was slightly confused for a second before realizing what he was talking about.

"Oh! Haha, Sorry. Ok, Let's go then." She was blushing from the embarrassement of her confusion but she rose knelt down next to him, putting his arm around her shoulder and her arm around his waist. He groaned as she raised him slowly from the ground. She led him to the waters edge.

"Do you wish for me to remove your pants? NOT LIKE THAT!" She nearly screamed as he eyed her funny. "I just meant so that they don't get wet when I help you sit in the water." He contemplated her idea before slowly agreeing that they should come off.

"I will remove them myself." He said. "Just place me on that rock. I will not ask a human to do such a thing as to undress me fully."

Ayuki nodded and directed their path towards the large boulder he had motioned towards. Once she had him seated she walked slightly away from him, turning her face the other way. She had to resist the urge to hum to distract herself from what was happening behind her. He had used his pants to cover himself up when he called her attention back to him. She was glad. She didn't really want to see him in his full glory. He used one hand to hold the pants in place until they got to the water. He hadn't really thought of how he would get rid of it without her seeing. He could worry about that when he got into the water. For now he was focused on holding it in place while she hand her arms around his waist to guide him.

Ayuki hadn't noticed until she took his shirts off that he was missing one arm. He almost pitied him but she knew that he wouldn't be happy with that. Once she had gotten him to the water, he told her to turn around before he handed her the cloth. As much as he wasn't timid, he did not want to be so un dignified as to expose himself to a human. She turned away and he passed her the pants. She blushed slightly before walking away. He had managed to sit by himself.

"Just let it soak in and wash the blood away and you will be healed." She said, finding a tree to sit next to. She had to be somewhere she could focus on what she was doing. He complied and allowed the water to clean the wound. Ayuki watched as he slowly attempted to usher the water into the wound but he was failing miserably. 'Good thing the water isn't really what will heal him...' She thought to herself. She closed her eyes and focused her mind on the only other mind nearby. She triggered the healing process via brain signals and Sesshoumaru was shocked to see his wound healing. Ayuki continued to concentrate as she healed him. She was startled out of her concentration to hear Sesshoumaru scream out in pain. Her eyes snapped open as she jumped up and her eyes quickly darted to Sesshoumaru. His missing arm had started growing back! Ayuki could tell that it would hurt like hell because of the new bone and tissues being grown. She whispered an apology and closed her eyes to concentrate. She was considering telling him what she was doing. Telling him that is was her way of repaying him. He would know that she did more than just lead him to healing water. She focused hard and she grabbed the nearest tree branch. 'Hold on Sesshoumaru, this is really going to hurt, but you'll be grateful...' She thought before continuing the work.

Sesshoumaru sank into the cool water of the waterfall and began to gently pour water into his wound. As he did this it began to heal. He smirked. 'The girl knows what she is talking about. This water does heal.' He found himself sudddenly writhing in agony. The nub that once was his left arm was burning. He cried out in pain as new bone began to form. He felt it stop momentarily and he heard Ayuki jump to her feet. He found it odd that the moment she stood up the pain stopped. He heard her whisper and apology quietly and the pain began again. The wound in his shoulder was a mere scratch compared to this pain. He grabbed a hold of a boulder near him, sweating profusely. The pain engulfed him and he howled out in pain.

Ayuki was focusing very hard. She felt absolutely horrible for the pain Sesshoumaru was going through and she wanted nothing more than to run to his side and comfort him but she knew that if she stopped now the arm would only be half the way healed so she stood her ground. It took a while, but she was able to heal his wounds. Ayuki was struggling to hold on to consciousness by the end and as soon as the very tip of Sesshoumaru's last finger nail had grown back she dropped to the ground, completely unconscious.

Sesshoumaru felt the pain stop. He was completely covered in sweat. She looked down at his left arm and found it fully regrown. He looked down then at his right shoulder and it too was healed. He was absolutely astonished. He looked back to see it Ayuki had been watching and saw her lying unconscious on the ground. He felt a twinge in his heart and had the desire to see if she was alright. He brushed it off as curiousity and pulled himself out of the water. He nearly faltered, realizing that healing had taken alot out of him. He knew now that this had somehow been her doing and he was determined to find out how she had done it.

Ayuki had slowly regained consciousness but was still too weak to move. She heard Sesshoumaru splashing around in the water as he attempted to get up. She lay still, wondering what he was doing. She heard him walk out of the water and come closer to her. 'Ah, I see now, he's making sure I'm still alive is he?' she thought to herself. This would be interesting. Maybe she would play dead for a while. 'There are more ways to mess with someone's mind than using telepathy...' Her face was still turned from him as she grinned. His footsteps came closer and closer.

"Woman."

"..."

"Answer me woman."

"..."

'Hmm, she still has a heart beat and I can hear her breathing. Why does she not respond?' "Why do you not answer me woman!"

"..."

sigh "Ayuki, wake up."

Ayuki was shocked to hear him use her name so she decided now would be a good time to "wake up". She grumbled and attempted to move but she was still too weak so she spoke instead.

"Sesshoumaru.."

When she grumbled his name she sounded so weak. He moved to her and sat next to her. He had no clue why he was doing this but he just did it anyways.

"What happened?" He said, still icily.

"The water doesn't have the ability to heal." She mumbled. Sesshoumaru did not understand and he told her to make herself clear. "I healed you, not the water. I did it with my mind. Please don't tell anyone I can." She said. She wasn't sure that he would keep it secret. He nodded to her. That was about the best answer she could have hoped for from him. He slowly rolled her onto her back as she had landed on her side. She stared up into his golden eyes and found herself blushing and she could only just raise her hands to block her face, but she didn't want to. She continued to stare into his gaze. Suddenly he shifted and began pulling her from behind.

"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" She yelled at him. A second later she felt her back being rested against a tree and she knew what he was doing. "Sorry, I shouldn't have yelled. I just wasn't sure what you were doing with me."

"Indeed." He said. "Rest."

"I can't rest. You'll probably want to be leaving now and I'll be the only one to protect myself. No rest for me." She said, shaking her head. Sesshoumaru sighed.

"Rest. I will not leave until you strong enough to walk on your own. Call it repayment for giving me my arm back." He said, causing a weak smile to spread across Ayuki's face. It had been a long time since she last had a restful sleep. She would be greatly appreciative of this one. She nodded in appreciation. She wasn't tired enough to sleep however, so she rested to regain physical strength. Sesshoumaru started a fire, seeing as it was turning to night and he knew that Ayuki, being a weak human, would get cold. He sat across the fire, leaning across another tree, looking at her.

"Why do you live alone human? There are many villages you could live in. You must have a family somewhere." Sesshoumaru said. Ayuki cringed at the word 'family'. She inhaled deeply and got ready to tell her story.

"I live alone because my family was killed by a large mass of demons. They raided our village. There were many wounded, many killed. Only a few of us survived. I was the only one from my family to make it." as she spoke, the tears began to well up in her eyes, but she forced them back. "They were following a demon named Naraku. I have made it my vow to seek him out and kill him. My family didn't deserve to die, but he most definately does." Her subdued tears turned into anger. "And when I find him, He's going to regret the day he didn't kill me."

Sesshoumaru had never imagined that a human could go through such trials and still be strong. He found himself respecting this human. From the way she acted, you would never know that she had lost every person she ever cared about. She kept a smile on her face. He continued to listen to her story.

"So I have devoted myself to strengthening my abilities so that when the time comes, I can destroy this Naraku." 'Oh crap! I said abilities! No! I hope he didn't notice!' Unfortunately for her, he had been listening intently to every word she said.

"What abilities do you speak of?" He asked.

'Damn! He did!' "Um, lets just say that the mind can be stronger than the body..." 'Yes, that answer should do.'

"You are not answering my question."

"Well, you know about the healing. Anything else I can do is my own business until I wish to reveal it." She answered. She hoped he wouldn't take offense.

"If I am going to consider you an ally against Naraku, it would be wise to know what I am working with." Sesshoumaru spoke.

"You CAN consider me an ally, but if anyone were to know of my abilities, ANYONE, then they would not be to my advantage. You will know what they are when the time comes for me to show you. I will not show you out here, where anyone could walk by and see." She said. "THAT would not be wise."

Sesshoumaru didn't like being kept in the dark, but he understood what he was being told. It would indeed be unwise to use her secret abilities where anyone could see. He contemplated his options and the best one sprung to mind. A grin formed on his face, just a small one, but a grin at that.

"When you are strong enough you shall return to my castle with me."

"YOU HAVE A CASTLE!" She yelled in surprise, nearly deafening him. Suddenly it hit her. Her eyes went wide and her face a palid white. "You are THE Sesshoumaru aren't you! Lord of the western lands!"

"Yes human, now stop yelling."

"Oh, Sorry, I didn't realize I was yelling. Ok, To your castle it is. But for now, just let me rest." She said. The sun had gone completely down. She was tired and slowly closed her eyes to sleep.

"How long does it normally take you to recover human?" He asked her, wanting to catch an answer before she fell asleep.

"Not long," She grumbled, "Should be able to walk in the morning..."

Before anyone was able to say anything else, she was fast asleep. Sesshoumaru sighed to himself. He thought to himself while she rested, trying to figure out just why it was that she was so intriguing to him. He thought about it late into the night, only the owls to keep him company.

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Eri: Chapter 2! Yeay! So far no reviews, but I don't care. It's my story. My character, Can't expect too much.:P Well, if there is ANYONE reading this, please review. thanks a bunch!


	3. The Castle

Disclaimer: Same as always except any characters not in the show are mine, such as Ayuki:P

**Chapter 3: The Castle**

Ayuki woke with a headache. It wasn't exactly how she had hoped to begin the day, but she was used to it. They came with the territory of having mental abilities. What she wasn't used to however was waking to a demon lord sitting over her. She pulled her body foreward from the tree she was leaning on, holding her head. She glanced over at the demon lord. He seemed to be asleep. She rose to her feet slowly, using the tree trunk to brace herself and walked to the water that was still so nearby. Ridding herself of her clothing she dove in head first. The water was cool and it felt fantastic against her skin, refreshing her and waking her up. She was attempting to keep her splashing sounds to a minimum to avoid rousing the attention of the sleeping demon.

Ayuki continued to bathe until she was satisfied. She glanced down at her fingers and laughed when she saw that they were pruning.

"Guess it really is time to get out." She said to herself allowed. When she turned to walk out of the water she saw an irritated looking Sesshoumaru standing at the waters edge. She shrieked and dodged back under the water.

"UGH! YOU JERK! GO AWAY! AT LEAST UNTIL I GET CLOTHES ON!" She yelled to him.

"What are you doing human?"

"WHAT THE HELL DOES IT LOOK LIKE! I'm naked, in the middle of the water. You piece it together." She said, nearly snarling at him.

Sesshoumaru found himself to be amused by her anger. Normally, such actions as she was taking now would result in a humans death, instead he found it to be entertaining. He watched as she turned red in the face from a mixture of anger and embarrassment. Suddenly his nose caught the scent of mint. He sniffed once and found the scent to be coming from Ayuki. 'Hmm, She smells of mint when she is either angry or embarrassed. I must figure out which.' He thought as he fought back a playful smile.

"Fine. You have 3 minutes. Hurry and dress before I come back and drag you from the water." He said before turning and walking away.

Ayuki breathed a sigh of relief, glad to see that Sesshoumaru had left. She mumbled under her breath about how rude he was. How inconsiderate he was and how much of a jerk he was. She quickly made her way to her clothing, dried herself off with a piece of cloth she carried with her and redressed. She walked back out to where Sesshoumaru was sitting. It almost seemed as though he had never moved. She smirked to herself. 'Asshole.' She thought as she walked to her belongings. Instead of being rude she merely asked him how his arm felt.

"Fine." he answered her.

"Fine? That's it? That's all you can say?" She questioned him.

His response was silence.

"Hmph. This is what I get for a giving a guy his arm back... OH CRAP! Did I just say that out loud!" she said, panic crossing her face. Sesshoumaru merely smirk at her and rose to his feet.

"It seems you are well enough to continue. We are leaving." He said, turning from her and walking away.

Ayuki quickly grabbed her belongings and rushed to his side. He raised an eyebrow at her but kept walking. Sesshoumaru himself could not understand why he was so tolerant of this girl. She held no fear of him. It intrigued him, and caused him to feel a small amount of respect for the human. No other human he had ever met had been this way. Although that was most likely because any other human he had ever come in contact with he was trying to kill or receive their payments to his lands. He looked down at her and she seemed to be focusing on something. She blushed deeply and looked up at Sesshoumaru and smiled before becoming a little too interested in the ground she was walking on.

Ayuki had been using her powers. She had noticed the raised eyebrow from Sesshoumaru and wanted to know what he was thinking about. She didn't want to snoop into his mind so she just opened her mind up to receive his surface thoughts. Much to her surprise he was thinking about her. About how she never feared him. How he respected her. She had felt proud until she noticed that his thoughts had taken a turn towards what she was doing right now. She felt his eyes on her and blushed, drawing her mind back in. She smiled at him and stared at the ground. 'Please don't know what I was doing, Please don't know what I was doing, Please don't know what I was doing...' She thought to herself. To her surprise he merely turned his eyes away from her again.

"How much longer until we reach the castle?" She asked. "Because I don't think I can take much more of the awquard silence."

"This would be alot faster if I did not have to travel with a human." He answered.

"So then do whatever the hell you have to do to make us go faster." She answered.

Sesshoumaru stopped dead in his tracks. He turned to her and grinned, however it was barely noticable. He grabbed her around the waist, throwing her over his shoulder. She yelped in surprise as he lept into the air. Ayuki screamed. She had never been a big fan of heights and this was definately not in her comfort zone. Ayuki had been shocked that he could jump so high which had momentarily distacted her from one thought. They would have to go back down. She was brought back to the reality of that fact by the feel of gravity's pull on them. She shrieked, closed her eyes and buried her head into Sesshoumaru's shoulder, clinging tightly to him.

Just as they were about to hit the ground Sesshoumaru summoned his youkai cloud underneath him and they sailed back into the sky, steadying out.

"What is the matter human? Don't you like my choice of transportation?" He smirked.

She opened her eyes and lifted her head to see that they had steadying out on some sort of cloud. She breathed a sigh of relief and punched Sesshoumaru lightly in the back.

"Don't Do that! You scared the crap out of me!"

..Stare..

"Not literally"

Sesshoumaru fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Humans should learn to say only what they mean."

"I agree with you there." She answered.

The two flew in silence for a while. Ayuki taking in the sights while Sesshoumaru pushed them on towards the castle. The castle came into sight and it took Ayuki's breath away. It was monstrously huge, however it didn't look menacing. From where they were she could see a large garden around the back and may youkai servants tending to them. She stretched her mind out to them and found that there was a small human child about 6 years old with them.

"WOAH! Hold up! There's a kid down there!" She said, nearly startling the taiyoukai.

"Yes."

"You let a human child live with you? Why?"

"I do, and my reasons are my own." He answered her, once again establishing the silence.

"You're not much for conversation are you?" She said, more a statement that a question. His silence answered her question. "Take that as a yes."

"Hold on." he said.

"What? Why?" she said, then screamed at the top of her lungs as Sesshoumaru plummeted towards the earth. She clung tightly to Sesshoumaru's neck and closed her eyes, hoping that Sesshoumaru knew what he was doing.

Sesshoumaru landed just outside of his castle, greeted by his guards. He smirked when Ayuki refused to open her eyes and let go. He grabbed her wrists and pulled them off his neck before setting her gently on the ground. Ayuki squirmed in his grasp but stopped when she felt her feet hit solid ground. She opened one eye to peak around. Once she realized that she was indeed still alive and safe, she opened the other and glared at Sesshoumaru.

"You couldn't have done that at a slower pace?" She asked angrily. The only response she received was a slight grin on Sesshoumaru's face. She was about to slap him on the arm when she heard the voice of the child she had seen earlier.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!"

Ayuki turned to see the small child running towards them at a rather fast speed. She had to side step to let the child pass. as the small girl collided with the demon. Ayuki couldn't help but laugh seeing the big strong demon getting glomped by a small human child. What surprised her most was Sesshoumaru's reaction to the child. He wasn't angry with her at all.

"Rin."

The small child looked up hopefully and said "Hai?"

"This is Ayuki. Say hello and go play."

Rin turned around and finally noticed the human woman standing behind her. She gave her a big toothy grin and said hello. Rin had most definately melted Ayuki's heart. Ayuki bent down on one knee so she could be on Rin's level.

"Hi there." She said gently.

"Hi! I'm Rin!" The little girl said happily.

Ayuki smiled. "I like you kimono, where did u get it?"

"Lord Sesshoumaru gave it to me. Isn't it pretty?" She said, still filled with joy to finally talk to a human woman.

"Yes it is." Ayuki said, glancing up to Sesshoumaru. "Why don't you go play, maybe I'll come play with you later, Ok?"

"Ok!" Rin said, running back to the gardens to play. Ayuki rose to her feet again and watched the small child run off to play. She couldn't help but feel that the girl had gone through alot in her short life but she didn't want to ask her. She wouldn't want to make the small girl cry. Perhaps she would ask Sesshoumaru later. She turned back to said demon and found him smirking at her.

"What?" She asked.

"Come. We have much to discuss." He said, face returning to it's usual stoic look. Ayuki sighed and rolled her eyes, following him into the castle.

The second she stepped in the front doors she was blown away. Never in her life had she seen such a large, elaborate place. The floors were beautifully decorated, the walls were covered in paintings of very large demons. Strong looking ones at that. On the wall directly facing the doors there was one, lone painting. Ayuki walked up to it and stopped in front of it. It was a large white dog. Ayuki gently caressed the painting with the tips of her fingers. She was pulled from her attentions to the painting by the sound of Sesshoumaru's voice.

"That was my father."

"He was...huge..."

Sesshoumaru mentally chuckled at her words. He was indeed a very large demon. Very powerful. He had hoped to one day defeat him in battle but his father had been killed protecting Inuyasha's human mother from Takemaru of Setsuna. He growled at the memory and turned his thoughts back to the girl.

"Indeed. Follow me." He said, forcing her to follow.

Ayuki could't believe that his father had been so large. 'I guess this means that Sesshoumaru is an inuyoukai then...' Up until this point she had not been quite sure what kind of demon he was. She was sure he was canine, but she wasn't sure what species. Now she knew. 'Well, that explains why he is so stubborn.' She noticed he was walking away from her and jogged to catch up with him. 'Damn he's fast!'

"Where are we going?" She asked as he led her through the castle and out the back doors into what seemed to be a training field. He locked the doors behind him, making sure that there was no one with him.

"Show me."

Ayuki realized what he was doing now. He had been leading her to a safe place to show him her powers. She looked around for something she could move with her mind. Anything. She found an archers target and drew it towards her, allowing it to hover in the air over her head. Sesshoumaru seemed to be shocked by this and she looked for yet more things to lift. She found the rack full of katana's and a few quivers of arrows and raised them above her head. Sesshoumaru had recovered from his shocked expression. He was indeed impressed, he had never seen such a thing done before.

Ayuki grinned. 'Ok, he understands now. It's time to show off.' She drew a bow to her that had been sitting next to the quivers she was now lifting. She set the target a good distance from her and notched an arrow on the bow in mid air. She fired the arrow and landed it dead centre on the target. She turned back to Sesshoumaru, dropping everything she had lifted gently to the ground.

"Ok, now you've seen that one. Think of something. Anything." Ayuki told him, opening her mind to hear his thoughts.

Sesshoumaru wasn't sure what to think of. He allowed the first thought to pop into his head that he could call up. His mother. Ayuki caught it and smiled.

"Your mother is very beautiful. Now think of something else." She said, searching his mind for another thought. He never called one up. She could tell that he was too stunned by her abilties to think of anything else. "Yes Sesshoumaru, my powers are quite unique, but ur not helping me show you them..."

'I wonder, do her abilities allow her to prejudge my moves were I to attack her?' He asked himself. He grinned and charged her, faking an attack from the front and instead attacking from the side. She dodged easily.

"WHAT THE HELL! SESSHOUMARU!" She yelled at him. "YOU...YOU JERK! WHAT WAS THE POINT IN THAT!"

"I was merely seeing if you could judge my attacks before I made them. It appears you can."

"You coulda just asked me..." she grumbled loud enough for him to hear.

"I could have, but this was more practical. You don't always know the truth until you see it for yourself." He replied. "You may stay here to train if you desire. There is less risk of being discovered here." He said, turning from her and walking away.

'Woah...Did he just invite me to stay with him?...The demon lord of the west inviting a human woman to stay with him?...I must take his offer, as it probably doesn't come around very often...' She thought, staring after the now retreating demon. 'This will indeed be interesting.'

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Eri: Well, that was fun.:D so glad to have another chapter up. I know it's kinda unique of a story but I hope anyone reading is enjoying it. Please review and let me know what you think. I mean I'm still gonna write it even if u dont but i would really appreciate it.

Sesshoumaru: This story is pointless.

Eri: Maybe, but it's keeping me entertained. Besides, you know you want to meet someone who can do what Ayuki does.

Sesshoumaru:...

Eri: Well, thats all for now. Lemme know whatcha think!


	4. Who are you?

Eri: Ok, i gotta say this cuz people keep asking. This is NOT a sess/kag, This is a sess/other character story.

**Chapter 4: Who are you?**

Sesshoumaru had left Ayuki alone to travel the castle as she pleased. She wqas overwhelmed to say the least. She had never in her life seen a place so grand as this. She wandered the hallways of the castle endlessly. Each room she entered held new surprises. She had found a library filled to the brim with books. She had found bedrooms, studies, even ceremonial halls. She was impressed. 'Lord Sesshoumaru keeps a clean home.' she thought as she passed yet another spotless table in the hallway. She was so busy musing with the castles appearance that she did not notice the servant heading towards her.

"You there! Ningen! Get out of this castle before I destroy you!" screamed the servant.

Ayuki jumped and turned to see the inu youkai charging at full speed towards her. His yell had attracted the attention of the other servants near by and they were now coming at her too. She was not sure how to explain to them that she was a guest but she didn't have time to think about it. She didn't want to use her powers on them, considering they were still her secret, so she ran, screaming at the top of her lungs.

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" She yelled at her attackers.

She ran round a corner and caught a glimpse of Sesshoumaru and ran straight towards him. He noticed her coming and stepped in front of her, blocking her from the servants.

"Why do you chase my guest?" He asked in his deadliest voice. He was unsure why, but he felt angry that his servants would attack her. He felt her cowering behind him. She understood that no matter how strong her mind was she would never have been able to take on that many guards.

The guards shook with fear at his words. They had not realized that she was welcome in the castle. They had assumed her to be an intruder, though how she would have gotten past the gates they had not thought through yet.

"W-we are s-sorry milord. We d-did not know she was a g-guest…" The one nearest Sesshoumaru said as they all dropped to their knees into the lowest bow they could possibly have taken.

"Be sure that this does not happen again." He said growling to them and allowing them to leave. They all bowed appreciatively and thanked him for his graciousness before nearly running for their lives. Ayuki sighed in relief and allowed herself to catch her breath.

"Thanks. I needed that." She said still breathing hard.

"You will train. Next time more than one opponent attacks you will not run."

Ayuki nodded. She did desire to train but she didn't have anyone to train with before. This was rather exciting to her. She had finally told someone she felt she could trust her secret. Mind you, it was only because she was being forced to do it. She couldn't believe what had just happened. Not only did she just find herself running and hiding behind the much feared Lord Sesshoumaru of the western lands, but he had protected her! She shook her head to clear her thoughts so she could properly respond to what he had said.

"Yes, I would very much like to train. It'll be nice to have someone to work with for once."

Sesshoumaru turned and looked at her. She had spoken so informally with him. 'That was almost as though she considers me a...friend...' Sesshoumaru was disgusted with his thoughts. He could not afford to have a friend or anything else. 'Mate...now thats a different story...wait...No! She is a ningen. I will not think that way about her.' He turned from Ayuki to walk away only to hear her laugh and stop dead in his tracks.

"What are you laughing at?" He asked, raising an elegant eyebrow in her direction.

"Nothing. It was just the look on your face at my answer. Well, technically it wasn't on your face since that was stoic as ever. It was more your eyes. I'm sorry. hahaha. I'll try to stop laughing now..." Ayuki answered, nearly falling over with laughter.

Sesshoumaru growled at her, though it was not hostile. It seemed merely irritated. Ayuki was shocked. This would have meant anyone elses death to laugh at him, but he was sparing her for some reason. She had to resist the urge to peak into his mind to see just what he was thinking, but she didn't want to invoke his wrath should he find out so she kept her mind to herself. She watched him walk away with a look of shock still plastered to her face.

Sesshoumaru could not believe he had let her off with laughing at him. He didn't even scold or threaten her. 'I'm getting weak' he thought to himself. 'Next time she will not get away with such actions...'

**'yes she will'**

'Who are you?'

**'your inner inu'**

'Go away.'

**'No. We like this girl. You will not harm her.'**

'I do not like her.'

**'Don't lie to yourself.'**

**'Very well. Ignore me if you like, but I do not go away.' **

Sesshoumaru growled to himself. Somehow this girl had awakened his inner demon and he needed to know how. Nothing like this had ever happened to him before. The only time he had ever seen his inner demon come forward was when he was angry but it seemed so much more civilized now. Perhaps it was because it wasn't acting merely on instincts. He made his way to his study. Somewhere in all the scrolls in his study there must be SOMETHING to explain this strange reaction.

He searched his study for hours and found nothing in the scrolls he had in there. He had nearly exhausted them when a thought came to mind. His father left his personal scrolls in the library. He had not wanted to read them before for they contained his father's personal thoughts, but he had no choice. He would not go uneducated about what was happening to himself. He had to know. He made his way to the library, went to the very farthers corner of the library and found his fathers scrolls. They were categorized by date. Sesshoumaru sighed to himself. This was going to take a very long time.

He grabbed as many scrolls as he could, relishing the use of his new arm. He had nearly forgotten how useful having two arms was. He set them down on the large table in the middle of the room, sat down, and started to read them one by one. He read for a good 3 hours before he finally came across what he was looking for.

_January 23rd, 1376_

_I keep thinking back on how I met Lady Izaiyoi. She was being attacked by a swarm of moth demons._

'Hmm, that sounds very familiar.'

_I thought nothing of her at first. Merely a woman on my lands in need of protection. I did my duty in protecting her. I made to leave her but she seemed frightened. I was reluctant to take her with me but I decided that I would. We came back to the castle and she was amazed at it's size. I learned more about her the more time we spent together. She told me that she was betrothed to marry a human male she did not love. The word love sparked an unknown curiousity in my._

_I began thinking. I began having thoughts about mating her. I pushed them aside though. She was human and I knew Sesshoumaru would never accept her as my mate. He was never the same after his mother's death. After a while I could no longer ignore my inner demon. Some how Izaiyoi had awakened it. I would disagree with me whenever I denied how I felt about her. Anytime another male came near her it would become enraged and fight against my control. I know now what was happening. My inner demon had already chosen her as it's mate. The more I denied it, the stronger my instincts became and the harder it was to control myself. _

_I should never have denied my inner inu. I should hope that should Sesshoumaru ever read this, he would never denied his inner demon. Many servants lost their lives to my enraged inu. _

Sesshoumaru stopped reading. He had heard what he needed to. His inner demon had already chosen Ayuki as it's mate and denying it was a grave mistake. Though he did not show it, he appreciated his servants. Most of them were demons whose parents had been defeated in battle or who had been orphaned some other way that either he or his father took in. He did not want to be the one to kill any of them without a cause. They would be under his protection unless they went against his orders.

Sesshoumaru sighed to himself. His inner inu was impossible to deny. He had to admit, his inu had chosen a strong and beautiful mate. He would have to some how inform her of this. She would fight against him at first. It was all part of the mating game. He had to somehow coax her into allowing him to court her.

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Eri: Ok, just a reminder. This is not a sess/kag in case you couldn't tell by that chapter. lol. well, that was my first shot at an inner demon thing and a point of veiw sesshy's dad so go easy on me. Please review though:)


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